[1] YOU FOUND ME ( gilbert blythe! )

22 | DON'T LEAVE ME

⎾22 | DON'T LEAVE ME ⏌

NO MATTER HOW MUCH I HAD hoped that Gilbert Blythe was standing in that doorway, my fantasy was incorrect. It was not Gilbert standing in the doorway, but another person. A man—tall, with a white beard, and piercing blue eyes. He surprised all of us—not to mention he gave us all a look of sympathy as he walked into the the room with my mother and father trailing behind him.

"Hello, children," The man said, sticking out his hand with a grin plastered on his face.

Something was very off about this man, and I wanted to know what he was up to. Unfortunately, I found out way too soon. As the man took a seat on the sofa, he pulled out his briefcase along with a dozen papers. The four of us stepped closer to the man and my parents, wondering what was going on.

"Forgive me," I chirped, glancing at the elder looking man. "But, what is this all about sir?"

The man hesitated, glancing up at my parents who nodded in his direction, proceeding him to continue. The tension started to rise in the room as I tried to read the small fine print on the parchment. The man noticed this and quickly handed the papers to my father, who pushed down his glasses and began to read.

"Hmmm," My father mumbled as he glanced over the parchment. "Yes, it looks like everything is all set."

"What do you mean, everything is all set?" I questioned, begging someone to tell me what was going on."

My mother and father glanced at each other, mentally fighting with each other as to which one to be the bearer of bad news. Finally, after what seemed like minutes of silently arguing, my father let out a sigh knowing he would not beat my mother.

"We didn't tell you this at first because we knew you would be very disappointed, but," My father paused, sighing with sympathy. "We did not permanently adopt Thomas, Andrew, and Charlie."

"What?" Thomas asked, his eyebrows knitting in confusion as he took a step inward towards the group. "What do you mean we weren't adopted?"

"What we mean to say is," My mother interrupted. "Samantha's father and I participated in a year-round charity to provide care for the orphans who live on the streets. It is a program that ensures education and rehabilitation so that the orphans can go back out on their own and be independent citizens as young individuals."

After my mother finished, the whole room seemed to pause in thought. My mind whirred in confusion as I tried to process the situation. What my mother had just explained was that the boys, my best friends, are leaving? No, that can't be right.

"Wait," Andrew butted in, glancing at my mother. "So you're telling us that we are going to be put back out on the streets?"

My mother hesitated slightly before responding, "Yes. But, the good news is that you will each be receiving a loan of money to start you off. I know it's hard for you to see, but this is a good thing for you. This is when you all begin your new lives."

My mother ended with a smile, then nudged my father to smile as well. Even though they tried to brighten the mood, the rest of us were still confused and angered.

"You couldn't possibly be serious," I said, looking around at all the boys and then back at my mother. "This is just as much their home as it is mine."

"I know that, but they don't belong here. They were meant to go live their lives out in the world." My mother argued.

"I don't understand, why can't they live here?" I asked, crossing my arms. "You have enough money to provide for them."

"This is not up for discussion, Samantha," My father said sternly. "The decision has been made. They will leave tomorrow at first light."

"No!" I stammered angrily. "You can't do this!"

"Excuse me young lady, you should not be acting like that. Especially when we have a guest over," My mother said. "Go to your room immediately."

My mouth gaped open as the words came out of her mouth, "What? No! These are my best friends! You can't take them away from me! Not now—"

"Samantha Vanderbilt, go upstairs now." My father said sternly, and if looks could kill, well, I'd be dead. After standing in his gaze for a few seconds more, his voice deepened, "Now."

After one glance at the boys, I sank my head to the floor and turned around. Just as I thought I had lost the battle, Charlie walked towards my and held my arm to stop me.

"No. I refuse to leave her. Samantha is my best friend," Charlie pleaded, looking at my parents. "Please, don't do this."

Almost too quickly to process, my mother and father swiftly signed the papers as if they had no care in the world about what would happen to them. My breath hitched my throat as the man grinned.

"You don't understand. Its too late for that," The old man chuckled, taking the papers away from my parents and putting them in his briefcase. "It is already done."

I huffed and ran up the stairs, slamming myself into my bedroom and frustratedly jumping onto my bed. Why couldn't they have told me this when I first came here? I would've known that we would have limited time together and would've figured out a way to convince my parents not to have them leave.

But, apparently my parents love to do everything as a surprise. Take me finding out only a year ago that they were my parents after spending many years thinking I was an orphan. It bothered me to the point where I almost wished they had never told me they were my parents and I stayed in Avonlea with my friends and family

Sometimes, I wished that I was back to being an orphan, when the only worries in the world were getting good grades, avoiding Billy Andrews, and being with Gilbert Blythe. Thinking back to the beginning, on that first day we met, it seemed like a whole other world. It was so long ago that the memory of it was slowly fading away.

That was it. That was when I decided that I was not going to play dollhouse in my new fancy dresses pretending to be somebody that I never, ever wanted to be. It was in this moment I realized that I needed to escape this prison disguised as a wonderland. I needed to go back into the world. I needed to find Gilbert Blythe.

But, there was only one problem. Under no circumstances would my parents ever let me leave this house and go into town. They especially would not let me leave them to live by myself at only fifteen—almost sixteen—years old. It was almost impossible to escape this place. Except, my three best friends are leaving tomorrow. Who says that I couldn't tag along with them?

And that was when I came up with a brilliant idea.